July 4, 2012

Rabid Reads: "Regret" by Gabrielle Faust

A little over a year ago, I
blogged about wanting to read this novella, due in part from the
giant bestial worm emblazoned on the cover. The idea of a character
becoming a demon of regret was also interesting. As a Buffy fan,
I really dug the revenge demons that appeared periodically in that
show, so I was curious as to how a regret demon might operate.
Well, considering the grim and bare-knuckles approach Gabrielle Faust
uses, it might not be something I'd ever see in a Buffy episode,
but it was definitely an intriguing read.

Marcus' life has fallen
apart. He's stuck in a dead-end cubicle job and his mood has been
getting darker and darker. One day he snaps--big time. The
consequences of that mount up in his mind, coupled with the
disintegration of his relationship with his live-in girlfriend, hit a
tipping point when a demon enters his life and gives him the means to
end his own life. That's just where the story starts, though. It's
what happens after that veers into the really dark territory.

Marcus is essentially
recruited to become a demon of regret, as part of a hierarchical army
of demons that roam the earth preying on humanity. After getting a
glimpse of Hell courtesy of the demon who turned him, he starts his
journey by revisiting his old apartment where he had ended his life.
Despite being dead--and a demon--people seem to have no trouble
seeing him most of the time, including people who knew him. That part
of the story threw me at first, because one character in particular
seemed entirely too complacent with the notion that a dead guy is
moving back into his apartment. The inevitable explanation does
satisfy, though. As well, his favorite easy chair, one of the only
things in his living days that ever gave him any solace acts as a
kind of beacon in directing him towards the souls of those
susceptible to his influence.

The pace of the book is
pretty even, though the exposition felt heavy at times with a lot of
dwelling inside Marcus' head as he deals with his own regrets, then
his fascinations with others' regrets. All necessary, I suppose, in
establishing the mood and character, but it felt heavy at times. The
real meat of the story is in his interactions with the demons and the
humans he winds up haunting. I appreciated the dark humor sprinkled
in as a disgruntled office worker winds up serving in a version of
Hell that appears to have even more macabre office politics. The
gradual erosion of his humanity after he dies was achieved quite
well, too.

Gabrielle has a real knack
for showing the human-side of the demon world, and I'm eager to see
how she continues Marcus' story, as there is a novel-length sequel
out this year called Revenge.
Hey, maybe she'll have a twisted take on those revenge demons from
Buffy lore,
though I think it will hit a more menacing note.